Various paper products, such as tissues and other paper webs, are typically formed into large supply rolls after being manufactured. In order to commercially utilize paper from these supply rolls, it is necessary to rewind the paper from the large supply roll onto a smaller sized roll, which is generally more useful for commercial purposes. For example, in conventional systems, a core is often placed onto a mandrel that is capable of spinning so that the spinning of the mandrel in conjunction with the core can effectuate winding of the paper thereon.
Techniques for utilizing mandrels for winding paper are generally well known in the art. For example, a turret-style winding system is one well-known method used to wind paper onto a core. Most turret systems include a number of mandrels that are each capable of spinning independently of each other so that multiple paper logs can be formed simultaneously. For example, in some conventional turret systems, a core is first loaded onto a mandrel. After loading, the mandrel and core can be spun so that a sheet of paper can be wound around the core. Once the desired amount of paper is wound onto the core, the core and paper can then be removed.
To effectively utilize a turret-style winding system, such as discussed above, it is generally necessary to ensure that the core remain securely fit onto the mandrel during spinning. If the core moves slightly about the mandrel while the paper is being wound, the paper might improperly wind onto the core, forming an undesirable asymmetrically wound roll.
In the past, various techniques were utilized to keep the core in a fixed position relative to the mandrel. For example, in some systems, mechanically operated dogs that cut into the core were used to maintain the position of the core relative to the mandrel. In order to support such mechanically operated dog systems, it was typically required that the mandrels be made from steel or some other heavy material. However, the use of steel and other heavy materials caused the mandrels to rotate and index about the turret at slower speeds, and thus, produced fewer paper logs per minute. Moreover, these dog systems often caused damage to the cores.
As such, a need currently exists for an improved system for winding paper onto a core. In particular, a need exists for a turret-style system for winding paper onto a core utilizing lighter mandrels to which a core can be securely placed so that the production of logs of paper per minute can increase in comparison to conventional systems.